Ability to identify and evaluate technology resources and technical assistance (i.e., those available on-line and on-site within a school and district setting).
Ability to assess advantages and limitations of current and emerging technologies, on-line resources and software to facilitate teaching and student learning.
Ability to engage in professional growth and leadership activities, including modeling lifelong learning by participating in face to face and online learning communities to continuously improve professional practice using existing and emerging digital tools, resources, and current research that focuses on improved student learning, as well as promotes professional development of other educators.
Twitter: Twitter is a social media tool that can be used in the classroom for communication between parents, students and teachers. The format for twitter allows 140 characters for each post or "tweet". This can be a helpful tool for educators because the short sentences can relay precise information for students. I use it to communicate with students, such as reminders for homework or upcoming tests. I also use it as another form of discussion board, asking students to respond to my "tweet" or question and the page of responses can be reviewed to address understandings or misunderstandings of information. Students can also collaborate with each other, by responding to a classmate's post or retweeting it. The pros are that the students definitely enjoy it because they can use their cellphones while learning or reflecting on their learning and their responses are accumulated in a list that they can refer to for studying. The cons are the possibility of students posting inappropriate content. Twitter has its acceptable use policy, but sometimes inappropriate content may not be removed immediately. Sign up for twitter is free and the directions are easy to follow. This link below can be used to create the free account needed to use twitter.
Professional Development Paper: In the Technology and Education course, we were required to participate in professional development on Twitter during the course. The requirements included specific items we had to tweet and discuss to enhance our knowledge in education. Below you will find a paper that I wrote sharing my experience with this assignment. It was great to use this source to communicate with other professionals.
Reflection:The end of course reflection paper required for Technology and Education displayed how the twitter assignment on professional development helped enhance my educational knowledge. The assignment helped me identify and evaluate technology resources and technical assistance by searching the internet for professional development opportunities. The resources found in searches had to be evaluated thoroughly to ensure validity and to be sure the requirements were met. For example, we had to find subject area publications and conferences that were in our field. Online technical assistance and on-site assistance was necessary to understand some resources found.
The assignment caused me to explore Twitter and how it can be used for teaching and learning. I shared that I had used it previously through a personal account, but had not used it professionally. I was able to assess the advantages and limitations of twitter and other on-line resources for myself. Some of the resources found and shared by other classmates that were beneficial to me, were the NSTA sites and ACS sites. I found that the advantages of those items were direct access to valuable information from veteran teachers and others who have experienced success in the classroom.
The ability to engage in professional growth and leadership activities was a main focus in the twitter assignment. The assignment was designed to enhance our professional outlets in education through online resources. Twitter and the various resources posted by myself and classmates produced ways to engage in lifelong learning in online learning communities and face to face meetings. Some of the resources displayed local meetings or face to face opportunities to attend. The professional development opportunities can be used to improve use of existing and emerging digital tools. We know that many new tools are released often, so the information researched in this assignment helped set the foundation for ways to continue advancing with the times to stay current for students and growing as educators.
Twitter: Twitter is a social media tool that can be used in the classroom for communication between parents, students and teachers. The format for twitter allows 140 characters for each post or "tweet". This can be a helpful tool for educators because the short sentences can relay precise information for students. I use it to communicate with students, such as reminders for homework or upcoming tests. I also use it as another form of discussion board, asking students to respond to my "tweet" or question and the page of responses can be reviewed to address understandings or misunderstandings of information. Students can also collaborate with each other, by responding to a classmate's post or retweeting it. The pros are that the students definitely enjoy it because they can use their cellphones while learning or reflecting on their learning and their responses are accumulated in a list that they can refer to for studying. The cons are the possibility of students posting inappropriate content. Twitter has its acceptable use policy, but sometimes inappropriate content may not be removed immediately. Sign up for twitter is free and the directions are easy to follow. This link below can be used to create the free account needed to use twitter.
https://twitter.com/signup
Professional Development Paper:
In the Technology and Education course, we were required to participate in professional development on Twitter during the course. The requirements included specific items we had to tweet and discuss to enhance our knowledge in education. Below you will find a paper that I wrote sharing my experience with this assignment. It was great to use this source to communicate with other professionals.
Reflection:The end of course reflection paper required for Technology and Education displayed how the twitter assignment on professional development helped enhance my educational knowledge. The assignment helped me identify and evaluate technology resources and technical assistance by searching the internet for professional development opportunities. The resources found in searches had to be evaluated thoroughly to ensure validity and to be sure the requirements were met. For example, we had to find subject area publications and conferences that were in our field. Online technical assistance and on-site assistance was necessary to understand some resources found.
The assignment caused me to explore Twitter and how it can be used for teaching and learning. I shared that I had used it previously through a personal account, but had not used it professionally. I was able to assess the advantages and limitations of twitter and other on-line resources for myself. Some of the resources found and shared by other classmates that were beneficial to me, were the NSTA sites and ACS sites. I found that the advantages of those items were direct access to valuable information from veteran teachers and others who have experienced success in the classroom.
The ability to engage in professional growth and leadership activities was a main focus in the twitter assignment. The assignment was designed to enhance our professional outlets in education through online resources. Twitter and the various resources posted by myself and classmates produced ways to engage in lifelong learning in online learning communities and face to face meetings. Some of the resources displayed local meetings or face to face opportunities to attend. The professional development opportunities can be used to improve use of existing and emerging digital tools. We know that many new tools are released often, so the information researched in this assignment helped set the foundation for ways to continue advancing with the times to stay current for students and growing as educators.